Once again County Council Conservatives proposed closing Hartley Wintney Household Waste Recycling Centre and once again they have been forced to cancel their plan in the face of fierce public opposition. A Liberal Democrat petition with thousands of signatures was presented to the County Council showing just how angry people were. In fact Liberal Democrats all over Hampshire campaigned to save the 12 tips that were under threat, and all 12 have been saved.
County Councillor Adrian Collett stated: “It is very good news that Hartley Wintney HWRC has been saved again, but Hampshire's budget crisis remains. The worry is that if the Conservatives get back into power at next May's County Council elections they might try again, and with the elections safely over they might not listen to residents quite so carefully as they have done this close to those elections.”
Hartley Wintney Parish Councillor and local campaigner Deborah Fontana added "I’m really pleased that all our hard work campaigning against the closure of the HWRC has had a positive outcome and that the site will remain open to local residents for now! However, I too share Cllr Adrian Collett’s concerns that Conservative Councillors have been trying to close this site, and other sites like it across Hampshire, for many years.
With regards to the Conservative Councillors' attempt to take credit for the HWRC remaining open - after they’ve opposed this for so many years - it is just confusing to everyone! I don’t believe that it is a coincidence that this has happened six months before the County Council elections. They’re just playing political games as usual. I’m not interested in games, and frankly I don’t have the time for them! What I’m most interested in, and where I want to spend my time, is working hard to make progress on positive changes for our community."
Conservative led Hampshire County Council are facing a gaping £132 million hole in their budget from April 2025. Amongst their proposals to address it is a drastic cut of over 25% in their road maintenance spending.
